إِنّي ظَنَنتُ أَنّي مُلاقٍ حِسابِيَه
Indeed I knew that I shall encounter my account.’
EXEGESIS
I knew is given as ẓanantu in the Arabic, from ẓann, which, as explained under 2:46, can mean supposition, or its opposite, conviction, depending on the context. Here it means conviction. See also the explanation for this word under the Exegesis of 72:5 and 83:4.
The one who is given his book in his right hand mentioned in the previous verse attributes his success to his past conviction in an afterlife and the Day of Judgement, because it was this conviction – I knew that I shall encounter my account – that drove the choices he made in this world, and that, in turn, led to his success in the hereafter and to his achieving the blessings described in the following verses.
In exclaiming ‘I knew that I shall encounter my account’, the felicitous person means that whenever he had a choice between enjoying the comforts of worldly life versus sacrificing his time and wealth for the sake of God, he always chose the latter out of a conviction that every moment of his life is recorded and accounted for (50:18, 82:10-12), and that the more he sacrificed here, the greater shall be the reward he reaps in the hereafter.
Faith in an afterlife presupposes faith in God of course, but in itself it imbues a person with a spirit of being conscious of all his actions. It clothes him with a sense of awe and responsibility that holds him back from the temptation to violate God’s laws and the rights of others. This faith in a day of accounting also generates the constant desire in the faithful to use life in service of God and His creation, which in turn nurtures his spiritual growth.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- The Prophet was asked: ‘Who are the most intelligent of believers?’ He replied: ‘The most frequent in recalling death and the best prepared for what follows it. They are the most intelligent.’
- From the Prophet: ‘The best form of asceticism (zuhd) in this world is the remembrance of death, and the best form of worship is reflection (tafakkur). One whose remembrance of death is much will find his grave to be a garden from the gardens of paradise.’
- From the Prophet: ‘Account your selves before you are accounted for; weigh them [i.e. your deeds] before they are weighed [for you], and prepare for the great exhibition!’
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Qarāʾatī has said the use of ẓann in this verse could mean supposition to show that even some belief in an afterlife and the accounting before God is enough to save a person. This is also a view suggested by other exegetes for verse 2:46 but, as explained there, the Quran usually uses ẓann to mean conviction and certitude (yaqīn) when discussing the faithful and their faith, and to mean supposition and conjecture when condemning empirically-limited attempts at rationalising the truth. See 2:46 for more.
Nasr seems to echo the same view as Qarāʾatī, saying:
‘I knew for certain translates ẓanantu, a word that in some contexts indicates doubt. If read in this manner, the verse would indicate that one was not entirely certain of the final outcome, but nonetheless followed the commands of God and the Prophet and was rewarded accordingly.’
Such an opinion is fine, if, by saying ‘one was not entirely certain of the final outcome’ we mean the outcome of one’s personal life and deeds in this world. But it is not a valid understanding if by that we mean a doubt whether one will ever encounter one’s account. For that is tantamount to doubting the Day of Resurrection. A defining quality of the God-wary is that they are certain of the hereafter (2:4). The guilty are in doubt about the hereafter (27:66) and only attain conviction on the Day of Judgement when it is too late (32:12). God only allows Satan any access to man so that We may ascertain those who believe in the hereafter from those who are in doubt about it (34:21).
[1] Ibn Majah, h. 4400.
[2] Kanz, h. 42104.
[3] Bihar, 70/73, h. 26.
[4] Qaraati, 10/201.
[5] Nasr, 69:22.